On a Friday morning, students at Indianapolis Public Schools’ Cold Spring School arrived to school to find an unexpected, but pleasant surprise. Prior to entering the building, students received cheerful greetings, high-fives, cheers and encouragement from professional men in the community.
Sept. 25 marked the first Positive Male Professional Day.
“I saw this on Facebook so I thought, why not do this at Cold Spring (school),” said Christine Wise. “It’s nothing special really going on today. It’s a random Friday. It’s just about bringing our students in and showing them powerful men and just say hi.”
Wise also wanted students to know the community cares about them and wanted them to witness something positive.
Wise reached out to Dr. Preston Adams, senior pastor of Amazing Grace Christian Church, who spearheaded gathering the men that would greet students. Facebook also helped propel the event and gather more males.
Participants included Lloyd Crowe and Kendale Adams of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department; Leroy Robinson of the Indianapolis City-County Council; Jacob Wise, CEO of SmallFire; Timothy Wright, academic life coach/dean of behavior at Marian Academy; Dr. Jeffery Woods, regional director for the Expectations project; Ontay Johnson, executive director of 100 Black Men of Indianapolis Inc.; Dr. David Hampton, senior pastor of Light of the World Christian Church; James Wilson, president and CEO of Circle Up Indy and many more.
“This is ministry on so many levels. Kids need this,” said Lee Ivey, vice president of the student council at Christian Theological Seminary. “This is an experience like none other, not only for the student but for me. I’m thankful these great men came out.”
Dr. Lewis Ferebee, IPS superintendent, was also on hand to greet students and said he couldn’t be happier to see community men come to an IPS school to uplift students.
Cold Spring School is a small IPS environment studies magnet program located on the city’s near-west side. The school sits on 40 acres of land that allow students to go outdoors. The school is also a neighbor of Marian University.
“We’re more than neighbors, we’re partners. Our students are mentors to these kids,” said Daniel Elsener, president of Marian U, who also came to the school to support the students. “I started out my career as a teacher and worked my way up. This is a natural thing for me to be here today.”
Wise plans to replicate this event in the spring using positive female professionals.
